Every morning at 6 a.m., about 100 able-bodied men gather around a local supermarket on Northern Boulevard in Flushing. A man pulls over a pick-up truck near the road, and looks out of the window. More than 10 men start to crowd round the truck, but the truck driver points to two, tall and healthy-looking men among them. After they climb in the back, the truck drives to a near by construction site where the two men work for $6 an hour.
These are day laborers. For decades, immigrants from almost every country have found work on street corners, working for an hourly wage wherever they are needed. Today, New York City still has one of the largest populations of day laborers in the country. It is estimated that there are two dozen sites in the city where approximately 3,000 day laborers wait to be picked up.
In addition to low pay, long hours, and dangerous working conditions, day laborers also face troubles within the neighborhoods where they look for work. Residents in the areas complain about the men loitering on the corners or in the parking lots.
“It is not that bad early in the morning,” said Tae Kim, one of residents on the corner of 147th Street and Northern Boulevard. “But it is a little bit annoying that those who couldn’t find a job stay there all day long and loiter on the corner.” It is not easy to solve this problem because the employers in the community want to pick up cheap day laborers on street, and the workers need a place to wait for the employers; all are illegal.
“Because of construction, there is no Flushing bound local train…” This is an ordinary announcement on the 7 line in Queens. During April, the 7 line had more “service changes” than its original schedule. When one train makes all local stops, there are no local trains working the other way. “This is annoying. I have to go to Willets Pt-Shea Stadium, to transfer to a Manhattan bound local train, and then back to 103rd St, Corona Plaza. It takes me at least 20 more minutes going back and forth,” one of 7 line commuters complains.
The frequent schedule changes on the 7 line are not only a recent problem, but a situation that had made riders frustrated because the condition has gotten worse. The train comes rarely and runs slow when service changes, so it is usually packed. The number of guides at subway stations seems to be reduced; with only service changes notices posted on the walls at station. Riders have to spend double time on their trips, using trains and enduring inconveniences.
Even though, the MTA New York City Transit announced last year that they would be improving services on the subways and buses, no improvement shows on the 7 line. “There is no change, but only fare increases,” says a rider on the 7 line.
There will be no more harsh waiting on a windy and rainy night. Starting last year, the City’s Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) constructed elaborate, glass bus stop shelters in Flushing, New York. They were originally completed on the major roads such as Northern boulevard and Whitestone expressway. Now, they are reaching local areas in northern Flushing. “We will replace every bus shelter and install an additional two hundred by 2011,” announced on the official site. They will be working with community leaders to identify the best locations for the additional two hundred shelters. The locations will be selected to ensure that the shelters serve more bus-commuters and the public. D.O.T. is also panning to add more features to the shelters; not only seating, but new technologies like Bluetooth, L.C.D. screens and real-time bus arrival information. “It looks much nicer. The bus will not just pass by this stop especially late at night,” says a pedestrian at the bus stop, pictured above. It is located at the corner of Linden Place and 32nd Ave, where Q25, Q34 and Qx1, three buses are supposed to stop. “Even though it does not change my waiting time for the bus, I appreciate that the city started to do something for this neighborhood.”
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